http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2014/07/10/microsoft-windows-7-mainstream-support/
Quote
Windows 7 users have had a lot of fun recently. Poking fun at Windows 8 is a popular pastime as is teasing those too stubborn to abandon the Windows XP sinking ship, but now comes their own wake up call. Microsoft MSFT +0.04% has formally announced that mainstream support for Windows 7 will end on 13 January 2015 - just 5 months away.
"Every Windows product has a lifecycle. The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it's no longer supported," the company explained. "Knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to upgrade or make other changes to your software."
Of course January 2015 will be much sooner than many people will have expected, especially the high profile attention given to the end of Windows XP support 13 years after release. By comparison Windows 7 is less than five years old.